Housing--The One Stain on FFXIV

[Velisra]

From a new player's perspective, the housing crisis in FFXIV is the one stain on the game, and it's a pretty large stain.

There seems to be quite a bit of content that will remain inaccessible to some players, simply because there is no housing to be had, especially for new folks who don't have millions of Gil already.

When will more housing be added? When more is added, how will SE guarantee that everyone gets a piece of the pie?

How will SE make this right, so that equal opportunity exists for all paying customers?

P.S. Please, I'm not looking for the "Just join a FC with a mansion." answer here. That shouldn't be a requirement to access all the content that you pay for.

[Niwashi]

And this will become increasingly important as more features are added to housing (like airship building workshops).

[Velisra]

And this will become increasingly important as more features are added to housing (like airship building workshops).

Oh yes, I've seen what's coming in HW, and it's plain that there will probably be more content gated behind housing in the future.

I understand that you have to work for things you want in the game, but you can't work for something that just isn't available because there's not enough land to go around. A feature like this should be baseline, and available to anyone who wants to put in the work to get it. As it stands now, no matter how much work you do, you can't be guaranteed to have access.

How does SE justify charging the same amount of money to all customers when some are denied access to certain features?

[elemental10]

Instanced housing.

/morethan10char

[Ehr]

I'm pretty sure they stated somewhere that the new airship features will be accessible to players without an FC or house through a system. Was "Mercenary System" or something.

[Mikedizzy]

They are suppose to be added more plots in Heavensward either launch or 3.1 or something...cannot remember but it is coming and it will still not be enough.

[Risvertasashi]

When will more housing be added?

Previously they've said they feel they have met the demand for housing. A little more recently, they've hinted that there might be a small amount added at some time along the expansion.

When more is added, how will SE guarantee that everyone gets a piece of the pie?

How will SE make this right, so that equal opportunity exists for all paying customers?

Their intent so far has been to keep it among the elite. If you want a house, have quite a bit of cash on hand for the expac launch and be sure to grab it quickly whenever it arrives. It's worth noting that some servers sold out within minutes of going live.

[Niwashi]

Their intent so far has been to keep it among the elite.

I do now have a house myself. (Coeurl isn't in as bad of shape as some servers. It ran out of small plots initially and again after the first housing upgrade, but I don't think it ever ran out of medium or large ones, and by the second upgrade even small plots lasted a long time and I was able to get one.) But I still find the whole design so inadequate it's practically an insult to their customers. Major game features like housing shouldn't be something that's kept among the elite. It should be something available to everyone, instanced so that availability isn't even a question to consider, and provided at a reasonable cost while players are still in the middle of the game. (I'm thinking unlocking maybe around level 20 or 25, and needing to have joined a GC rather than needing to reach GC rank of 2nd Lt.)

If you want a house, have quite a bit of cash on hand for the expac launch and be sure to grab it quickly whenever it arrives. It's worth noting that some servers sold out within minutes of going live.

Due to variations in download speed, some of the busier servers were sold out by the time a lot of players could even finish the patch download to be able to get online.

[Risvertasashi]

Stuff!

I agree wholeheartedly. I was among those protesting how SE did it. But... two huge community outcries, and usually a thread every week or couple of weeks complaining about its current state... And the only responses we have gotten: "Well actually, if you consider inflation what I said is true." "We feel we've met demand." "We're going to focus on new features of housing instead of housing availability." "We'll probably add a little more housing at some point in Heavensward".

In short, their path is pretty set.

[Velisra]

Instanced housing.

/morethan10char

This would be a great solution, but I guess there's some reason SE doesn't want to do that, whatever that reason may be. Perhaps it just doesn't work with the current tech?

I'm pretty sure they stated somewhere that the new airship features will be accessible to players without an FC or house through a system. Was "Mercenary System" or something.

That would be great if true, though there are other things gated behind housing ownership that everyone should be able to access.

They are suppose to be added more plots in Heavensward either launch or 3.1 or something...cannot remember but it is coming and it will still not be enough.

That's how it looks to me as well after looking around in game and reading a bit online about the housing issue.

Previously they've said they feel they have met the demand for housing. A little more recently, they've hinted that there might be a small amount added at some time along the expansion.



Their intent so far has been to keep it among the elite. If you want a house, have quite a bit of cash on hand for the expac launch and be sure to grab it quickly whenever it arrives. It's worth noting that some servers sold out within minutes of going live.

As a new player, I strongly suspect it's quite literally impossible to amass the amount of Gil that would be required in the short amount of time between now and the xpac launch. So far, Gil feels like it falls from the sky, but even then it's not in THAT kind of quantity.

I do now have a house myself. (Coeurl isn't in as bad of shape as some servers. It ran out of small plots initially and again after the first housing upgrade, but I don't think it ever ran out of medium or large ones, and by the second upgrade even small plots lasted a long time and I was able to get one.) But I still find the whole design so inadequate it's practically an insult to their customers. Major game features like housing shouldn't be something that's kept among the elite. It should be something available to everyone, instanced so that availability isn't even a question to consider, and provided at a reasonable cost while players are still in the middle of the game. (I'm thinking unlocking maybe around level 20 or 25, and needing to have joined a GC rather than needing to reach GC rank of 2nd Lt.)



Due to variations in download speed, some of the busier servers were sold out by the time a lot of players could even finish the patch download to be able to get online.

I completely agree with you about the housing being a major game feature. "Inadequate" and "insult to their customers" doesn't even come close. It's not good when even the fun things that aren't combat related--like gardening--are gated behind a feature that's inaccessible to most players. I'm all for working for something you want, but even if I did have millions of Gil already, I couldn't buy if there's no housing available.

I agree wholeheartedly. I was among those protesting how SE did it. But... two huge community outcries, and usually a thread every week or couple of weeks complaining about its current state... And the only responses we have gotten: "Well actually, if you consider inflation what I said is true." "We feel we've met demand." "We're going to focus on new features of housing instead of housing availability." "We'll probably add a little more housing at some point in Heavensward".

In short, their path is pretty set.

So far, it seems to me that the game is really well done and it doesn't seem like the devs are totally clueless like some other games I've played. However, if they think they've met demand... I can't imagine they're really in touch with the player base on that one.

Perhaps adding tiny plots that offer gardening only might be an option. Honestly, RIFT has a really fun "housing" system, and if I want to build and decorate, I can go over there for free so I'm not even hung up on the whole idea of having a house in Eorzea. What I would like is access to a garden. Heck, Germans have their Schrebergärten; make something like that for folks who would like to garden, but aren't really interested in a whole house.

I'm not going anywhere--heck, I just got here, and I'm having a lovely time with the game--but this housing issue is a big one for me and I hope a fix of some sort comes soon.